China has withdrawn its promise not to send troops or administrators to Taiwan if it takes control of the island, signaling a decision by President Xi Jinping to grant less autonomy than previously offered.
China had said in two previous white papers that Taiwan would enjoy autonomy after becoming a special administrative region of China.
China’s ruling Communist Party proposed that Taiwan could return to Chinese rule under a “one country, two systems” model.
China‘s white paper on its position on self-ruled Taiwan follows days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises near the island, which Beijing claims as its territory, in protest against U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit last week.
China had said in two previous white papers on Taiwan, in 1993 and 2000, that it “will not send troops or administrative personnel to be based in Taiwan” after achieving what Beijing terms “reunification”.
The government of Taiwan has rejected the “one country, two systems” proposal, saying only the island’s people can decide their future. The 2000 white paper also said anything could be negotiated, but this was removed in the latest paper.
Taiwan has lived under the threat of Chinese invasion since 1949, when the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island after Mao Zedong’s Communist Party won a civil war. Ever since the two have been at odds and the Chinese main land has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party while Taiwan has a democratic system of government.
The two system government was how Hong Kong was reintroduced to China when the British handed back control. However right before the pandemic started Hong Kong citizens and the government of the CCP were at odds with protestors in Hong Kong facing brutal totalitarian style beatings, bad arrests, and violence at the hands of the state.
For more on this story, please consider these sources:
- China’s New White Paper Lays out Vision for Post ‘Reunification’ Taiwan – The Diplomat
- China withdraws promise not to send troops to Taiwan if it takes control of island – Reuters
- Beijing cuts military and Taiwan autonomy pledges from reunification paper – South China Morning Post
- China appears to wind down threatening wargames near Taiwan – The Associated Press